CONCACAF to host 2nd Women’s Football Day

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) will celebrate Women’s Football on Saturday, May 21, 2016.
Building on the success of the inaugural women’s day held in 2015, in which 38 of the 41  member associations within the Confederation united to create a significant opportunity for girls and women to play the game, this year’s one-day event will provide an even stronger platform to raise awareness for women’s growing  participation in soccer.
“CONCACAF has created the Women’s Football Day as a unique initiative to encourage greater participation from women of all ages in the game, while showing how sport can have a positive impact on education, health, and development,” said CONCACAF Acting General Secretary Ted Howard. “We are convinced that there is an enormous growth potential within our region and we need to continue demonstrating that the sport offers significant opportunities to empower women beyond the pitch.”
UNICEF will join the celebration of the Women’s Football Day, collaborating in promoting messages through their social networks, to further raise awareness of sport as a powerful tool to promote equality in society.
According to UNICEF, “Sport can help girls and young women claim their place in society. It can help girls gain respect and develop self-esteem. It allows them to form friendships. It teaches girls self-sufficiency, personal autonomy and leadership. On sports grounds, there is no difference between children.”
Scheduled to kick-off at 11:00 Hrs EDT, several activities will be organized within CONCACAF’s member nations with support provided by the Confederation.
Three specific programs are recommended to the Member Associations, but they will have the opportunity to administer an activity of their choosing.
Girls Grassroots Festival
3 v. 3 or 5 v. 5 Tournament
Football Skills Challenge
Since 2014, when the Confederation successfully hosted the “Let’s Develop Women’s Football” summit in Philadelphia, CONCACAF has created a strong women’s football movement by launching girls’ grassroots programs and hosting several competitions.
The Confederation has hosted both of FIFA’s 2014 tournaments for youth players – the U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cups in Costa Rica and Canada, respectively. In August 2014, CONCACAF conducted the first-ever Under-15 tournament for girls, in the Cayman Islands. In addition, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ drew a total attendance of more than 1.35 million, setting a new total attendance record for a FIFA competition other than the FIFA World Cup.